Thursday, October 15, 2009

New Design Wall

My sweet husband got a permanent design wall up for me for my birthday. It's a great present although I have yet to make full use of it. It's 7' x 7' and made of 3/4" styrofoam insulation panels cut down into four sections and covered with flannel. I'd have preferred gray or a khaki (something in a medium value) but couldn't find it so went with a light yellow.

This design wall is definitely constructed ala Lazy Gal. I didn't iron the flannel first and it's hardly perfect. But it's functional, does what I want it to do, and we got it done relatively quickly.

I did all the piecing on this hope quilt top before my surgery and have yet to get back to work on this. Sharon, you have another fun name for this thing? I loved Hope Strings Eternal, what would this one be?

I still haven't gotten back into the full swing of things. Slowly slowly.

I have a bunch of fun quilting links for you.

Check out new blog Fun with Barb and Mary to read about their quilting adventures. Between the two of them they see lots of quilts, not to mention show off their own - I love their interpretations of a classic here. Look at the amazing fan quilting on these antiques. yummy.

New-to-me is Ann Champion's Blog where she's been featuring some wonderful antique finds as well as her own colorful quilt in progress. In particular I love this String Star (although it seems to me there should be another name for this block, but I can't think of it) for it's use of striped fabric. And lovers of cheddar should be sure to catch this Railroad Crossing.

Speaking of striped fabric, check out this awesome mid 1800's star quilt. I love the modern look of it. Whee.

Sticking with the theme of antique quilts, what looks like an amazing exhibition is on at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA until November 15th. It's called Master Pieces: Haberdashery Textiles in Antique Quilts. The quilts are all made out of men's clothing. Quilters Spirit did a great write up on it here. I totally love these quilts, just wish I could see the show.

Jennifer D of Pasquali Rumpus did a really fun job free-piecing letters in this pillow. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of Jennifer's words in Cake.

Bumble Beans is doing a really fun Waverunner quilt-along. Very improvisational, very fun. Have to admit, it'd be scary for me not to use the rotary cutter. Eeek, I look forward to seeing all the amazing quilts that come out of this.

On a non-quilt related note, I gave up on Flash Forward about 15 minutes into the most recent episode. I didn't like any of these people and didn't care what happened to any of them.

I'm almost finished watching the first season of Fringe and then I can get caught up on the new ones. I'm really enjoying it. Not a perfect show but I love the characters, especially the Bishops. Now if they could just stop using LSD to solve crime it would be that much better.

You'll love the design board. A lint roller works wonders when it becomes too thready to stick properly.Thanks for the shout out!Barbp.s. I'm a little undecided about this season of Fringe so far, but I can't quit, as the characters & actors are just too good.

I hooted out loud when I read this...."On a non-quilt related note, I gave up on Flash Forward about 15 minutes into the most recent episode. I didn't like any of these people and didn't care what happened to any of them."You are so funny. I realized that I skipped the last episode totally which should be a clue. One less thing I need to try to remember.Glad you're feeling a bit better, and love the design wall.

Hey ms.t!yeah! a design wall! hey, as long as it works girlie! ;-)cant' wait to see that hope quilt done up. fabulous stuff.. Totally DOPE!(as they used to say...boy that dates me) er, I mean, totally HOPE!

as for my quilt along, Rotary cutter's a yes, a RULER is a no,no.we will use rotary cutters, just no rulers...There's lots of newbies so I am very excited!I'm off to bed. I'm in Houston.. yippee!take care and take it slow.

OH..OH...I am sooo jealous of yourdesign wall! My 3 huge pieces of insulation foam board are still propped up in my kitchen...LOL...Mr. Brown Dirt got busy with harvest...so, I'm a handy gal...I'll figure it out as soon as I can find some flannel the right color.So glad to see your work up on your board and to know you are headed to recovery!!As for Flash Forward...I still have the recent ep on my DVR...so I will see if it gets the axe or not!!Thanks so much for the 'shout out'!

About Me

I live in Maryland (between DC and Baltimore) with my five cats and my husband. I've been a quilter since 1987 and consider my style liberated and non-traditional traditional (think Gwen Marston, Gee's Bend, and string quilts) and I watch way too much tv while sewing and hand-quilting.